*Olivia*
I glanced around the bustling cafeteria as Dahlia told about a gelato date with her latest guy. Our bodyguards stood against the wall behind us, alert but not interrupting the steady stream of students.
I took a deep breath and another bite of the grilled cheese I’d taken to ordering here. Sure, it was kinda plain, but the Italian cheese and bread worked wonders for the Arican classic.
It felt like a little piece of ho.
Dahlia waved her hands in my face. “Hellooo, Earth to Olive. Did you even hear what I said about the spoon thing?”
I blinked. “Sorry, Dolly. Got lost in my head. Tell about the spoon thing again.”
She put her hand on mine, genuine concern shining in her eyes. “Still scary to be at school?”
I looked at the bodyguards again. Nothing had happened here since the note, so it seed like they were doing their job.
I shrugged. “Actually, no. It’s starting to feel safer here since nothing has happened in so long. I was just thinking, that’s all.”
A thundercloud crossed Dahlia’s brow. “Did my cousin do sothing?”
I laughed. “Relax, everything’s fine. I was just thinking about my class, that’s all.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “You sure?”
I shook my head. “Crystal.”
Dahlia opened her mouth to say sothing, but an alarm went off on her phone. She checked it quickly and winced. “Shit. Sorry, I have to run if I want to get to class on ti, and the professor’s a real stickler.”
I waved her away. “Go, go. Accounting waits for no one.”
She laughed as she gathered her things and raced away, her bodyguard peeling away from Dom to follow.
I nursed the rest of my grilled cheese. I had a busier schedule than Dahlia overall, but I’d scored fifteen minutes more for my lunch break.
I hadn’t been entirely honest with her; I was thinking about Gio. It had been a while since our fight, and he still wasn’t telling what I needed to know.
mories of that night kept coming back, the night I slept away from him. Dahlia and I had eaten breakfast in her room while we got ready, and I’d been at school all day. I couldn’t decide whether that was better or worse. I’d grown so used to seeing him that it felt like a part of was missing, but I also couldn’t stand to look at him if I thought about the platitudes that he kept giving in place of real information.
I’d realized so ti that night that what I really wanted was to be treated like an adult. I loved how he saw as sothing precious to be protected, loved the way it made his touches gentle and his eyes soft, but that made him think of as fragile.
I needed him to understand that I knew what I was getting into. I understood the danger. Hell, I’d had it splashed all over my face, though the mory still made shiver in the warm cafeteria. Dom’s head moved sharply toward in the corner of my vision, and I felt a little more at ease.
I needed Gio to treat like an equal and tell the information I asked about if I was ever going to get my footing in this life. I was tired of half-truths and not-my-problems. I couldn’t figure out if I could handle this without knowing what I had to handle.
I popped the last bite of grilled cheese in my mouth and began gathering my books. I had Art History next, and the art building was basically on the other side of campus, so I’d lingered a little too long to be confident I could get there on ti.
Dom stepped to my side, and I imdiately felt my shoulders drop down from around my ears. I was definitely less frightened than I had been in the imdiate aftermath of the note, but it was hard to feel totally confident with so many puzzle pieces still missing.
How could I tell Gio he needed to treat like a grown-up without sounding like a teenager? The more we had that discussion, the more I felt the gulf of age between us. He expected to rely on nothing more than promises, promises that had been proven false after Dahlia and Alessandro got taken.
I knew he could protect if I would just restrict my life to his compound forever, but as much as I loved him, I couldn’t keep myself locked up like that. I needed my classes, my friends, and my own career soday. Now that I was looking to the future, I needed—
“Oof!”
I rounded a corner and smashed face-first into another student, falling backward onto my ass. Both of our books scattered across the hallway, and I felt Dom tense behind .
“I’m so sorry!” I babbled, shoving my hair out of my eyes to finally get a good look at the person I’d just body slamd.
“No, I’m sorry!” A pale girl with dark, curly hair and a thick Italian accent began scrambling for our books before we’d lose them in the crowd. She looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place her. “I left my Art History textbook on my Vespa, and I have that next, so I was basically sprinting across campus to make it on ti.”
Art History! She usually sat near the front, while I’d taken to sitting in the back to be closer to my bodyguards. I looked up at Dom and shook my head to tell him she wasn’t a threat as I scooped up the rest of the books.
“AH 102 with Orecchiette?” I asked, wanting to be certain.
She looked up at with wide eyes. “Yes! You’re the girl who said the thing about the David being made out of poor-quality marble. Ophelia?”
I laughed. “Olivia. And you are....” I glanced down at the notebooks in my hands. “Caterina?”
She stuck out her hand. “At your service!”
I shook it, and we traded books back to their proper owners. Even with Dom at my back, I felt like a normal college student for the first ti since the sester started.
She ran a hand through her hair and bit her lip. “So, I’m totally gonna be late if I try to make it to the bike lot now.” She gestured to the books in my arms. “And you clearly have your textbook. Mind if we share today?”
“Not at all! But if we don’t get going, we’re both going to miss the intro lecture.”
Class passed quickly with Caterina at my side. She took the most aggressive notes I’d ever seen, column after column of cramped Italian, but sohow had ti to whisper comnts to when one of our fellow students said sothing silly.
I giggled through half the lecture but still managed to learn a lot about early Renaissance brushwork. When we were dismissed, she twisted in her seat to look at .
“I like you,” she declared.
I smiled. This girl reminded of how Dahlia always made new friends.
“I’m taking this as an elective, and honestly, I’m kind of drowning. All my pre-d training doesn’t leave a lot of space in the brain for art.” She laughed. “Can we trade numbers, maybe do a study-buddy thing? I’d be happy to co to wherever you and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handso back there are staying.”
I blanched, real life suddenly rocketing back in. I rembered the black bag I’d dreamt about over my head, the suffocation, and the fear. I had a bodyguard for a reason, and it was to prevent people from getting too close.
I didn’t even know this girl, and she wanted my phone number and my ho address? Caterina could very easily be a Russian na, or just a straight-up cover identity. Had I ever even really seen her in class?
“Um...” I mumbled. “I’m so sorry, but my phone’s... gone. I’ve gotta go.”
I turned and raced up the steps to where Dom had been keeping a watchful eye on the whole encounter. Stoic as always, he simply moved to my side and left without a word.
I glanced over my shoulder as we left the classroom. Caterina was still sitting at her desk, looking after with her eyebrows furrowed. I flushed brilliantly red when I t her gaze.
As we hurried through the hallways of the college, I couldn’t decide whether I felt stupider for blowing off a potential new friend or more worried about whether she could actually be a plant sent to get close to .
Sobody had been in my biology class, sobody my bodyguards hadn’t noticed, and that ant the Russians had to have so people who could pass as college students, maybe even well enough to fly under my radar. Unless they’d paid soone off which was another possibility.
She took her notes in Italian, but that could just be so I couldn’t see what she was writing about . My spoken Italian had gotten much better, but I still struggled with writing.
I wished I had sobody I could go to and ask if I was being paranoid, but after all my crying during the kidnappings, I couldn’t risk anybody seeing as any weaker than they already thought I was. Gio would just add more bodyguards or promise I was safe, and Dahlia would tell I shouldn’t worry about it all the ti, or I’d drive myself crazy. Neither of those worked for , not anymore.
I wasn’t crazy for worrying when the people I loved kept getting hurt. I could be next, or they could just be using to get to Gio.
But could I live a life where every person I t needed to undergo a comprehensive background check before I gave them my phone number? Could I go to college, do group projects, and attend house parties when I couldn’t make it through a single conversation without freaking out?
Did I want to?
Dahlia and I had dread of our wild college days in Italy for years, a life full of boys and friends and excitent. Even if I didn’t love Gio so deeply my heart ached whenever I didn’t see him, I couldn’t imagine dating like Dahlia had been anymore. How could she trust those n enough to let them get her alone when I barely felt comfortable during a public conversation?
But god, in those monts when I forgot about the Russians and the mafia war I’d been dragged into, I’d really liked the feeling of making a friend again.
Dom left to my silent contemplation as we made our way to the car. It was one of the rare days Dahlia and I got out at almost the sa ti, so I’d get to see her on the ride back to the compound. We reached the dark-tinted limo, and Dom opened the door for .
I took a deep, steadying breath. I didn’t want to think about Caterina, or my future in this world. I didn’t know how I could go back to the compound if I did.
I stepped into the limo.
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